Practicing inbound marketing means sending emails to people who actually want to hear from you. You’ve probably Googled “best email marketing tips” so your emails don’t end up getting lost in a customer’s inbox — or worse, their spam folder.
Caution: SmartPhones May Be Hazardous to Your Health
Smartphone use isn’t formally recognized as an addiction – yet. But we have all caught ourselves in addictive behavior. Not long ago, I headed to my bank which is a mere 3 miles from my house. About halfway there I realized I had forgotten my phone. I started to turn around to go get it! REALLY?!?! I used to make cross-country trips without a phone. Now I can’t drive 3 miles to the bank? In town on a sunny day?
The addiction is bad enough in adults but children, teens and young adults are even more susceptible as they have grown up with a phone in their hands.
Why is it hazardous?
- Constant notifications and activity interfere with concentration.
- People become less social when they focus on their phone instead of the people around them. Technology can never replace a friendly face and a smile.
- Children and young adults are particularly damaged as they are still developing social skills and miss experiences that help them grow.
- Scrolling through news feeds can be huge time sucks lowering productivity, happiness and even the amount of sleep you get.
- We literally get a hit of happy hormones (dopamine) from some phone activity. We are training ourselves to want more and more.
- Multiple studies have shown increases in depression, anxiety and other mental health issues are directly related to phone usage time.
- Even communities, cities and social groups lose opportunities when people sit in public spaces using their phones instead of interacting with others.
How do you disconnect?
No, don’t throw away the phone! Small adjustments in your behaviors can have big results. Our lives will become more and more connected to our phones with SmartOvens, Informed Mail Delivery, integrated calendars, etc. etc. etc. So there is no better time than TODAY to start intentionally disconnecting from your phone.
Research recommends these actions:
Notifications
Set notifications from social media platforms, your emails, services to come in a one time once a day instead of separate notifications from each one at each little action. (This will also make you more productive as you get into “email mode” and answer several emails at once.) Not having all those dings and blips on your screen will also lower your stress level.
Hide your social media and email apps
Drag the icons for your social media platforms, email apps, service providers to your 2nd or 3rd screen so you don’t see them all the time. You can even put them into a “Once A Day” folder. Or delete the apps from your phone completely and only access the apps from your laptop.
Hide the phone
There really is some truth in “out of sight, out of mind.” During meals, put everyone’s cell phones in another room. In the office, put the phone behind you and on silent for a set period of time to let you focus on a project.
Make access a little inconvenient
Don’t use biometrics or Facebook ID or other shortcuts for logging in. Make logging in a little bit harder to give yourself time to think “Do I really need to do this right now?” Science shows this small pause reduces phone and app usage!
Gray your screen
We are attracted to colors and images. Set a time – maybe 2 hours behind bedtime – to gray out your screen. It will reduce usage. It will reduce anxiety by making the screen less attractive therefore easier to turn off.
Make a list of tasks or set time limits
Before you pick up the phone, make a list of the tasks you need to do. Don’t just pick it up and “walkabout!” Mindless wondering eats up a lot of time. Setting time limits will also help you focus on what you need to do.
Your support team from Building Bridges Business Solutions and Your Computer Lady want you to be happy, healthy and productive with all of your technology! Call us if you need further assistance!
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- (602) 604-5000
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- (480) 929-0335
How to Set Up Automated Email Marketing Workflows
“Without email marketing automation, your marketing team misses out on major opportunities to nurture and engage your target audience and contacts.
In this article, we’ll review common types of email marketing automation, the tools to help you establish and maintain an email marketing automation strategy, and different automation triggers you may implement at your company. But first, let’s begin by answering the most crucial question: what is email automation?”
If you want help setting up email automation give Your Computer Lady a call we can help!
17 Great Conversation Starters to Break the Ice at Networking Events
Sometimes, we have to fall back on an arsenal of conversation starters. It helps to spark a discussion, even when it’s taking every ounce of willpower you have not to go home, turn on Netflix, and order sushi.
We’ve got your back. Here are some of the conversation starters that we’ve tried and have seen succeed. Bookmark them for your next networking event.
6 Ways to Research Your Target Audience on Instagram
“Wondering if your business should be marketing on Instagram? Curious whether your marketing is attracting the right Instagram audience?
In this article, you’ll discover six ways to research and analyze your target audience on Instagram.”
Book Review: Your Brain At Work by David Rock
Very interesting book! I highly recommend it for anyone who has stressful days, difficult situations in their life or who wants to make a change in the world.
There is so much new information coming out now with improved technology about the brain and how it works. Mr. Rock takes the studies and theories and applies them to real life situations.
First he gives us a scenario. Then he discusses the new knowledge. Lastly, he re-writes the scenario using the knowledge so you can see it in action.
So it is easy to understand. Practical advice and application. And he’s funny at times.
Is Your Website Ready for the Next Big Compliance Wave?
This month I wanted to share something I’ve been keeping an eye on for 
a while… And that I will continue to watch for Your Computer Lady and for you.
If you’ve been following business news lately, you may have started hearing more about website accessibility and ADA compliance. If you haven’t, that’s okay — that’s partly why I send these newsletters.
I want to give you an early heads-up about something that’s quietly becoming a bigger deal for small businesses and nonprofits, so you have time to think about it before it becomes urgent.
What’s happening?
The Americans with Disabilities Act — the same law that requires wheelchair ramps and accessible restrooms — has increasingly been applied to websites. Courts and the US Department of Justice have made it clearer in recent years that websites are considered “places of public accommodation” which means they need to be usable by people with disabilities, including those who use screen readers, keyboard navigation or other assistive technology.
Lawsuit activity in this area has been growing steadily. This is a new revenue stream for law firms. Small businesses and nonprofits are not exempt. In fact, smaller organizations are sometimes specifically targeted because they are less likely to have the technical staff to address the issues or the legal resources to fight a suit.
Do you need to panic? No.
This is not something you need to drop everything and fix today. But it is something worth putting on your radar and beginning to think about — especially if you are planning any website updates or redesigns in the coming year.
What should you do for now?
The single best first step is simply to have a conversation with your attorney about your exposure and obligations. Every business is a little different, and an attorney familiar with your situation is the right person to help you assess your risk.
Beyond that, just being aware of this issue puts you ahead of most small business owners. When the time comes to take action, having already thought about it means you won’t be scrambling.
My role in all of this
Web accessibility compliance is a specialized legal and technical area that goes beyond standard website design and development. It’s not something I offer as a service. But as someone who knows your website well, I’m always happy to talk through questions or help you think about next steps if and when you decide to move forward.
As always, my goal is to make sure you have the information you need — even when it’s about things outside my own wheelhouse.
There will be more to come on this topic as the landscape continues to develop. In the meantime, feel free to reach out if you have questions.
Digital Organizing
I’ve worked on a couple of digital organizing projects recentl
y that showed clearly the benefits of cleaning up.
40K+ Unread Emails in Her Inbox
This client came to me because her email service provider was sending threatening messages about how much space her emails were taking up and how high the risk was for crashing her entire Outlook software.
First we archived several years of messages by year. She can get to them if needed but they are out of sight and they are taking a lot less space on her hard drive.
Then we started setting Rules to do some automatic clean up.
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Her employer sends a weekly email with sometimes important info; sometimes not so important. We set a rule to move the emails into a specific reading folder then after 14 days delete the messages.
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She gets inquiries on her AirBNB properties. We set a rule to store them in a specific folder. She can respond when she has time. She can delete if the inquiry dies or when the rental is over.
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Having designated folders means you can group your work (all employer emails, all AirBNB emails, all daughter’s weddings emails, … Working a group of emails together helps you focus and be more accurate. It saves your energy and bandwidth.
“I can’t find my files!”
The second client was downloading the same piece of software 5-10 times a week because he could never figure out where he saved it! I helped him create a folder structure that fits his business and the way he works.
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Clients
Client a
Client b
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Vendors
Vendor a
Vendor b
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Family
Photos
Trip plans
This structure is the same for his OneDrive (personal files) and for his SharePoint (business files). So it’s clear and consistent regardless of what he’s working on or if he’s on his desktop, laptop or phone.
How AI Transforms Social Media
“Artificial intelligence continues to play a game-changing role in many aspects of our lives. The social media landscape is one of the areas where this impact is most evident. From automatic content moderation and personalized recommendations to the ads we watch and beyond, AI is reshaping the way we interact and connect online.
According to Statista, the number of active social media users worldwide was 4.26 billion as of 2021, spending an average of 2 hours and 27 minutes daily on social media. Along with such growth in social media users, the need for AI solutions to understand customer preferences is also rising, with the AI market in social media expected to reach $3,714.89 million by 2026, recording a CAGR of 28.77%.”
Page Authority: How to Build Pages That Rank
“When I first started working in content and weaving SEO into my strategy, I treated Page Authority like a report card: the higher the score, the better I was doing. It took a few humbling ranking losses to a competitor with a lower PA score to make me reconsider.”
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